India's Supreme Court on Monday said the determination of citizenship status must be made through a fair, lawful and reasoned process and set aside the Gauhati High Court verdicts that upheld orders declaring some people to be foreigners in Assam.
The protection of equality before the law, equal protection of the laws, life and personal liberty is available to every person within the territory of India, the apex court said, adding that it has not examined the merits of the appellants' claims to citizenship.
It asked the tribunals concerned to adjudicate the references afresh, uninfluenced by any earlier observations by the High Court or the tribunals.
A Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said the state has a legitimate and compelling interest in ensuring that people who are not legally entitled to claim Indian citizenship do not secure such status by abusing the process, making false claims or taking advantage of procedural delays.
"At the same time, the determination of such status must be made through a process which is fair, lawful and reasoned," the bench said.
While setting aside the orders passed by the Gauhati High Court, the top court referred the matters to the Foreigners Tribunals concerned for fresh adjudication in accordance with the law.
The top court delivered its verdict on a batch of appeals arising from proceedings before the Foreigners Tribunals in Assam. In some cases, the proceedings took place before the erstwhile Illegal Migrants (Determination) Tribunals.
The apex court pointed out that in all these matters, the appellants were declared to be foreigners and those opinions were affirmed by the High Court.
Citizenship and foreigner status occupy a field of high constitutional and legal significance, it said.
"Article 11 of the Constitution preserves the power of Parliament to make provisions with respect to the acquisition and termination of citizenship and all other matters relating to citizenship," it said.
The top court said separately that the Foreigners Act, 1946, and the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 provide the statutory mechanism through which questions as to whether a person is or is not a foreigner are referred to and determined by the tribunals.
The bench said the apex court has consistently recognised that even a foreigner is entitled to the protection of life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
India / Indian Supreme Court
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